KARACHI: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has named Murad Ali Shah as the new chief minister of Sindh following party’s decision at a top-level meeting in Dubai on Sunday to replace Qaim Ali Shah.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari today presided a meeting of the parliamentary party at the Bilawal House where Qaim Ali Shah submitted his resignation. The meeting lasted for three hours at which the PPP chairman took party leaders into confidence on the decision.
Speaking at a press conference, Adviser to CM for Information, Moula Bux Chandio, confirmed the nomination of Murad Ali Shah and said that a ‘change’ has come in the province.
Shah is expected to be elected as the chief minister during the Sindh Assembly session on Friday, while the oath-taking ceremony would also take place on the same day.
Chandio further said that consultation was ongoing for the replacement of Qaim Ali Shah for quite some time and that Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari paid tributes to him for his services.
“There was a need for more energetic and courageous leader to prepare for the next elections,” he said, adding that the names of Murad Ali Shah’s team would also be revealed in a couple of days.
Some other changes in the provincial government are also likely as the Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani might become the minister for local government, a position he had held in the previous provincial cabinet.
Dr Sikandar Mandhro, Minister for Environment, could be the new speaker of the Sindh Assembly. Senior Minister for Education and Parliamentary Affairs Nisar Ahmed Khuhro could be given the slot of either home or finance. Mir Nadir Khan Magsi is likely to rejoin the provincial cabinet as food minister, a portfolio he had in the previous provincial government.
Jam Khan Shoro, the Minister for Local Government, could be given the charge of Prisons Department.It is likely that 50 percent of the new provincial cabinet would comprise newcomers including three women MPAs, Rubina Sadaat Qaimkhani, Shaheena Sher Ali and Irum Khalid, as ministers or advisers.
